Field Day

I am going to start off this post by saying it was NOT a perfect day for field day.  It was overcast and cold.  But, the kids had fun and that is all that matters.  I miss the old school field days that I used to have when I was a kid.  You know the ones with the 3 legged race and the wheel barrow.  Now they have a whole bunch of games that I do not think of when I think of field day.  For example.  Lets see how many marbles we can pull out of a swimming pool using only our toes.  Sure it's fun for the kids to do but, how is that a field day game?   Enough of that. Let's talk field day.  Tyler and Ella both got slotted for the morning time field day which was ideal for me because then I only had to stay out in the cold for the first part of the day and did not have to go back for the second half.  The kids all had a partner that they were required to stay with.  The kids we brought outside and that is when all *ahem* broke loose.  The kids were allowed to go anywhere they wanted, stay at any station that they wanted to, for as long as they wanted too.  It was chaos.  But once again the kids had fun.  Ella started at the marble station first.  She picked up 20 marbles with her toes.

 Tyler went and played capture the pig which is really a version of capture the flag.

Then Ella went to a water game where she got soaking wet and it was very cold outside.

 And Tyler you ask well, he played capture the pig.

 Ella then went onto playing a game to see who could blow the biggest bubble.  Which was kinda painful to watch because it was so cold outside the kids had to chew the very cold gum forever before they could get it soft enough to blow.

In the mean time Tyler decided to switch it up and play capture the pig! 

Ella moved onto playing with the parachute! 

 And Tyler moved on to playing capture the pig.

 Ella then did the potato sack race (now that is a field day game).

 And Tyler continued playing capture the pig.  Oink!

 Ella played the ball toss game.  Let's check in on Tyler!

As I suspected he played capture the pig! 

After all of the kids got to run around in the cold they gave the kids some Popsicles to warm themselves up!  It was a great field day.  The kids really did like it!

Girls wear pearls and guys wear ties

Natalie went to her first school dance right before school got out.  She did not think that she was allowed to go to the dances so she didn't even bother asking.  But, I found out there was one and asked her if she was going to go she got excited and found some friends to go with.  Nichole refused to go which I am ok with too.  The theme of it was Girls wear pearls and guys wear ties.  Natalie didn't know that she was going to be one of about 10 people that would actually dress up for the dance.  She said that it was only the new people that hadn't gone to a school dance before that ended up dressing up for it.  She did not end up dancing with any guys but enjoyed herself none the less.

School projects

We have successfully finished off the school year and I wanted to post some more of the projects that my kids have worked so hard on.  This is a mask that Nichole had to make for art class.  They plastered her face to it.  She said it was fun minus all of the vaseline that got everywhere.

Ella made a hat in school out of paper scraps.   

And Tyler made this mask in art class.

 Nichole and Natalie had to do a project that got graded in all of their core classes.  The project was coming up with their own planet and culture that lived on it.  They had to name it, invent a language, make food, video's and many more things.  Nichole made an artifact from her planet.  It was a wedding mask that one of the men would wear.

 Ella sculpted this in her art class. She originally made it for me but after it was finished she just couldn't bear to part with it.  In case you can't tell it is a lion.  I know what you are thinking it is a seal.  Wrong. I made that mistake and got chewed out for it.  Oops.



My Sweet Home

I have been planning on making this photo collage for months and months.  I got all of the pictures taken for it before I left from Mtn. Home.  and found the perfect vinyl saying for the wall.  The only problem is that Nate didn't want me to hang the vinyl on the wall so I had to plan differently for that.  I had an idea to put it on fabric and then mount the saying in a frame.  But, I couldn't find the perfect fabric.  Until I looked through the bedding section at walmart and found this really cute pillow case.  I decided that it would be perfect for the wall hanging.  Next dilemma when I went to put the vinyl on it was bigger then the frame was.  So I cute it down and patched it together.  I think I like it better then the original vinyl.  After I got it all ready I had Nate assist me in hanging it up.  I love, love, love how it turned out.  The next day the frame with the words in it fell off the wall and we have yet to rehang it.  Someone has misplaced the hardware.  The best part is... I now have a great idea for a new project that I will be doing for wall art.  It will only take 1 year to do.  Wish me luck.  It is going to be awesome but, not as sweet as this one was.

Campers: Nature's way of feeding mosquitoes. ~Author Unknown

After Ella's zoo trip and after feeding the missionaries (you know the ones I said in the previous post that didn't show up)  Tyler and Nate headed out the door to go on an overnight camping trip with other members of the stake.  The campsite was only 5 minutes away from the house which was nice for them when they got up in the morning and packed up their stuff and headed home because it was too stinking cold outside to stay any longer.  I really like it when the kids have some alone time with their dad.  The girls and I did not have any big plans at all.  We played some games and went to bed early.  See not too exciting at all. 

Ella's field trip to the zoo

Nate and I went as chaperone's to the zoo with Ella's class the week before school got out.  We decided to meet them there instead of ride the bus which turned out in our favor because of the other stuff that we had to do in Anchorage.  Nate and I were assigned 4 little girls and oh boy were they full of energy.  They would run way ahead of us and when we would ask them to stay close to the group within 3 minutes they were running off again.  Ella said her favorite thing to see at the zoo was the seals.  She liked to watch them swim in the water.   The zoo trip was the perfect amount of time.  We got to walk around the zoo for about an hour and a half.  The zoo was small enough that we were able to see all of the animals and a couple of them twice in that amount of time. 

After the zoo we took Ella with us and ran some errands in Anchorage but as a bonus we stopped at Moose's Tooth and ate a real lunch.  Ella loved to tell the other kids that she went there without them because they all remember going the first time and have wanted to go back we just never take them and only go ourselves.  She felt loved having us to herself too.  After Moose's Tooth we went to the bookstore and then to two different grocery stores to get what I needed for feeding the missionaries that night (which by the way didn't show up).  It was a fun outing with Ella and now I can say that I have been to the Anchorage Zoo!

Band Concert

Natalie performed in the end of year band concert in this month.  Both the intermediate 1 and intermediate 2 bands performed.  It was a packed house.  We got there later then I wanted to and we could barely find a seat too seat us all.  Natalie really has taken to the saxophone and loves playing it.  It doesn't take much convincing to get her to practice and most of the time she does it without being asked.  We have had some challenges with the saxophone this year.  First in Mtn. Home they didn't have a saxophone for her to play.  Which isn't really a big deal but, the band teacher didn't tell me and neither did Natalie so she went for a while without an instrument to play.  Finally the middle school band teacher fixed the saxophone for the Junior High and she was able to use that one for about 6 weeks before we left.  Right before we moved Nate and I found one on Craig's list and bought it for Natalie.  It needed a little bit of work done to it which was no big deal.  We decided to have it shipped with out stuff her instead of taking it with us in the car cuz lets face it when you move that far away a saxophone is on the low priority list of things to pack into your car.  When we got here we still had to wait 3 weeks to get our belongings and after we finally got it I went to take it over to the Music store to get fixed and come to find out they were closed for Christmas break and would not be open again until school started.  Natalie was without an instrument to play for almost 3 months this year.  I am glad that she has caught herself up in that.  I think that I would struggle with it.  We are still waiting to see if Natalie made concert band next year or if she will be doing intermediate band again.  Finger's crossed.

In this picture you can see the side of Natalie.  She is on the second row the second person in. 

Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. ~Larry Lorenzoni

I forgot to post this before my mother's day post.  I had a great birthday this year.  Nate let me sleep in that day but, unfortunately my little brother called at 6:00 a.m. and I was unable to get back to sleep.  But, Nate did get the kids ready for school for me.  When I came down the stairs Nichole brought me up my birthday surprise from her.  Flower's.  Aren't they lovely?   She walked to the store the day before and picked them out for me.  After the kids all went to school Nate and I just chilled in the house for a while and then got ready for lunch.  We went to Moose's Tooth (which is a pizza place that makes The Best Pizza) for lunch.  Then we had to hurry home so that Nate could get ready for work.  He was working the swing shift (2:30-10:30).  What a great surprise it was when he got home early that night.  After Nate left for work I just hung around the house and did pretty much nothing.  When the kids got home from school they spoiled me with Happy Birthday's and I Love You's!  They also cleaned the whole house, folded the laundry, and Nichole made dinner.  Natalie, Tyler and Ella bought and made me my birthday dessert which was cheesecake.  It was a very nice birthday.  For my birthday Nate got me a new point and shoot camera since I lost mine somewhere, a camera case, and a card for it, My mom and dad got me an adorable yellow purse, Nate;s parent's gave me some money which I was able to buy some frames for a project I was working on, Nate's grandparents also gave me some birthday money, and Mindy gave me this wonderful cookbook that I cook from almost everyday.  It's called Our Best Bites It has some of the best recipes in there.  As a matter of fact I have cooked quite a few things from that book and have enjoyed every single one of them.  I highly recommend it.  All in all it was a fabulous day!  And no matter what anyone else say... I AM NOT GETTING OLD! At least not yet!

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Two very, very horrible pictures of me.  Hello boobs!  That is what you get when you let your 7 year old take the picture.  

Mother's Day

I had a fabulous Mother's Day this year.  The kids let me sleep in and then Tyler brought me breakfast in bed.  I got ready for church and at church they gave all of the moms a flower clip and pie!  Yep we got pie to eat during our lesson.  When I got home Pizza and bread salad was made and dishes were done.  I did not have to do anything!  Nichole also made a pound cake with a strawberry lime topping with coconut cool whip. DELISH!  I was spoiled! 

Heavenly Father has blessed me with a wonderful family!  I have the world's most amazing kids.  They are all kind and caring.  I have also had a wonderful mom as an example of what a mother should be.  She has always supported me and encouraged me with in all of my decisions!  And I thank my Heavenly Father every day for having been born to her!  I love you mom!                       

The work of a mother is hard, too often unheralded work. Please know that it is worth it then, now, and forever.

One young mother wrote to me recently that she felt like the world expected her to teach her children reading, writing, interior design, Latin, calculus, and the Internet—all before the baby said something terribly ordinary, like “goo goo.” She worried because she felt she didn’t measure up or somehow wasn’t going to be able to be equal to the task, the mental investment, the spiritual and emotional exertion, the long-night, long-day, stretched-to-the-limit demands that sometimes are required in trying to be and wanting to be the mother God hopes she will be.

But one thing, she said, keeps her going. I quote: “Through the thick and the thin of this, and through the occasional tears of it all, I know deep down inside I am doing God’s work. I know that my motherhood is an eternal partnership with Him.”

Mothers, cherish that role that is so uniquely yours and for which heaven itself sends angels to watch over you and your little ones. Yours is the work of salvation, and therefore you will be magnified, compensated, made more than you are, better than you are, and better than you have ever been. And if, for whatever reason, you are making this courageous effort alone, without your husband at your side, then our prayers will be all the greater for you. Know that in faith things will be made right in spite of you, or more correctly, because of you. We thank all of you, and tell you there is nothing more important in this world than participating so directly in the work and glory of God.

May I say to mothers collectively, in the name of the Lord, you are magnificent. You are doing terrifically well. The very fact that you have been given such a responsibility is everlasting evidence of the trust your Father in Heaven has in you. He is blessing you and He will bless you, even—no, especially—when your days and your nights may be the most challenging. Rely on Him. Rely on Him heavily. Rely on Him forever. And “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope.”